Men’s State League 2 Round 4 Preview
This week will see a round of local derbies when first placed Dunbar Rovers host University of NSW at Hensley Athletics Field.
The Hurstville City Minotaurs will also lock horns with Hurstville FC at Magdala Park, while west will take on south-west when Prospect United venture down to Camden.
We have seen table-topping Dunbar live in action, so now it’s time to head out to Ron Dine Reserve to see their competition on the top of the ladder for this week’s match of the round.
Camden Tigers v Prospect United (Match of the Round)
The Camden Tigers have had a terrific start to the season, winning all three matches convincingly. Prospect have had a solid start and also remain undefeated, however they have yet to pick up the valuable three points in the two matches they have played so far.
An impressive 3-0 victory over University of NSW at home last weekend will certainly boost the confidence of the Tigers. They always seem to lift another level when playing at Ron Dine Reserve which is proven by their impressive 9-2 points FOR difference over the last two games played there.
Prospect’s Round 3 match against Hurstville FC was unfortunately washed out, so there is a possibility that they will be rusty on the road this weekend. They will need to bring their best game on Saturday if they are to maintain their unbeaten record.
Saturday 2nd May, 7pm, Ron Dine Reserve
Dunbar Rovers v University of NSW
Dunbar Rovers will be looking to make it four straight wins to start off the season when they take on fifth-placed University of NSW. Uni of NSW began the competition strongly with a win over Hurstville FC, but since then they have fallen into a slump after drawing 1-1 against Prospect in round two and going down to Camden 3-0 last week.
A clear difference between the two sides is their ability to find the back of the net. Uni of NSW have been a part of grind-out games this season and have only scored two goals, while Dunbar have blown the score out in the second half of their matches, averaging five goals per game.
Uni of NSW will need to make sure they communicate at the back and shut down the likes of Michael Sealy and Rene Mrva who more often than not convert their chances.
Saturday 2nd May, 3pm, Hensley Athletics Field
Southern Districts Association Club v FC Gazy Lansvale
Southern Districts have put their opening match behind them after picking up a tough three points away at Wagga Wagga last week and comprenehsively out-playing the Hurstville City Minotaurs the week before.
FC Gazy had a disappointing result on the weekend. However, when they concentrate, they play a very attractive style of attacking football. Their downfall is their discipline, with three out of the four players who have received a red card this season coming from Lansvale.
The last two weeks alone, FC Gazy have conceded a total of 12 goals with eight of them occurring while they had ten men, showing the importance of keeping a cool head.
Saturday 2nd May, 7pm, Sydney United Sports Centre
Western Condors v Wagga City Wanderers
Fourth placed Western Condors will host bottom of the table Wagga City Wanderers at Calabria Sports Ground. The Western Condors are coming off a 3-2 win over the Hurstville City Minotaurs while the Wanderers narrowly missed out on the three points against third placed Southern Districts.
Despite being winless in the first three rounds of the competition, Wagga City continue to improve. They would have gained a lot of confidence from last week’s match as they led for most of the game. Head coach Blaise Fagan looks at the start of the season as a way of forming combinations, especially for such a new club.
The Western Condors will look to keep their position in the top four and will only be able to do that if Cristian Leiva Martinez continues his goal scoring form. The Wanderers have their own attacking weapon however in Carl Pideski who has three from three matches.
Sunday 3rdth May, 3pm, Calabria Sports Ground
Hurstville City Minotaurs v Hurstville FC – WASHED OUT
Bragging rights will be on the line for this match with the highly anticipated Hurstville derby that has been an entertaining spectacle for many years.
The Minotaurs would love nothing more than to get their first win of the season at home against Hurstville FC who haven’t laced up the boots since round two because of the weather.
Minotaurs head coach, Peter Sarikakis, has identified key areas of concern that they will need to address before putting their season on the right path. These include taking the chances that present themselves and cutting out careless mistakes.
Hurstville FC had the same problems in round one against UNSW but quickly addressed it the following week to come out 3-2 victors over the Western Condors, showing the resilience of the team.
Sunday 3rdth May, 3pm, Magdala Park – WASHED OUT
-By Lars Roy, Men’s State League 2 Reporter
